Elizabeth Blood was born Dec 19, 1833, in Oil City, Venango Co., PA, the
daughter of John Blood and Elizabeth Masterson. She married Horatio Nelson Gage in Wisconsin
in 1856, and they had eight children. Their first son Stephen is shown with his mother. The
picture was taken in 1858.
BIOGRAPHY: Horatio Nelson Gage and his
wife Elizabeth established a ranch in 1876, near the mouth of Duck Creek on the north side
of Yellowstone, near the hot springs. In 1877, her husband built a stage stop to accommodate
stagecoach passengers on the line from Miles City to Bozeman, complete with saloon and
restaurant, the first in the region. The following year, however, Nelson Gage had a fatal
heart attack, leaving Elizabeth with seven children to rear. The widow took over Gage
Station and began to farm the homestead as well as invest in cattle. Another family
tragedy occurred the year after Nelson Gage died; their son Stephen drowned in the
Yellowstone trying to save Nelson Story's foreman and a colt; all perished. Their bodies
were not found for five months. The Gages had more troubles; son John accidentally shot
brother Horatio in the stomach; he died a few minutes later. Grief stricken, John died
within a few months. Elizabeth Gage also lost two daughters who died at the Helena Girls
School in MT. The two surviving children, Josephine and Dora, both married and lived nearby.
In January 1882, high winds caused flying sparks to burn down the Gage establishment.
Knowing that construction of the railroad was imminent, the Gages rebuilt some of the
buildings and opened a road house. Elizabeth died in 1883 in Big Timber, Sweetgrass Co., MT.
Information from “Montana Sweet Grass Country: from Melville to
the Boulder River Valley”, by Phyllis Smith.
